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external police auditor, and said she was interested in having the council know what the officers needed for them to feel supported by the council. She asked the chief to think about how the council could convey its appreciation and support to the department staff on a continuous basis. Chief Lehner commended the work done by Senior Management Analyst Linda Phelps on the Strategic Plan. B. WORK SESSION: Public Safety Task Force Update The council was joined by Jim Johnson, consultant to the Public Safety Task Force process. Mayor Piercy recalled the council’s rejection of a public safety district proposal put forward by the Board of County Commissioners and its expression of willingness to work with its interjurisdictional partners on a funding solution. She called attention to the materials given to the council, which provided a review of the task force process. The task force was formed by the County in response to the reaction it received from Lane County municipalities to the public safety district proposal. City Manager Taylor said he believed the task force attempted to determine the status quo and the level of service needed to meet the demand of cities in Lane County. Several recommendations were forwarded by the task force, and he believed the Board of County Commissioners expected the council to respond to the proposal with a specific set of recommendations, which would inform its decision-making process. Mayor Piercy asked Mr. Kelly, a member of the task force, to comment on the recommendations of the task force. Mr. Kelly spoke to how intertwined the elements of the public safety system were and how necessary one element of the system was to another element’s success. He considered the proposal in terms of each element of the system and what it would mean in actual practice. He believed that the mix of services in the proposal made a major difference in all the areas of the system. Mr. Kelly said that it was easy to criticize the allocation if one did not understand the interrlationships of the system, such as the expense of incarcera- tion versus the cost of providing drug treatment beds. Mr. Kelly reported that 10 of 12 jurisdictions present at the final meeting of the task force supported an initiative to create a local sales tax, partially offset by a property tax. Some jurisdictions recommended gross receipts tax offset by property tax reduction. He commended the work of Commissioner Faye Stewart, who had taken a political risk and shown leadership by conceding there was a funding gap and proposing a solution. Mayor Piercy thought the proposal before the council had been carefully thought out. She also commended the work done by Commissioner Stewart in seeking a solution, adding that she supported his proposal and that the commissioners were now working on next steps. Mayor Piercy invited comments and questions from the council. Ms. Bettman asked who the decision-making body would be for the allocation of the revenues collected if the task force’s recommendation was adopted by the voters. She learned from Mr. Kelly it would be the Lane Board of County Commissioners, then voiced her concern with that arrangement. She asked what percentage of the $60 million was actually dedicated to prevention as opposed to enforcement. Mr. Kelly said he was not trying to avoid the question, but he did not think the statistic was particularly relevant MINUTES—Eugene City Council November 9, 2005 Page 6 Work Session